COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
In a physical battle between regional powers, the No. 3 Maryland men's soccer team came out on top, 3-0, against 13th-ranked William and Mary Tuesday night at Ludwig Field.

Jason Herrick, Casey Townsend and Paul Torres all scored goals for Maryland (13-2-1, 6-1-1 ACC) in a key matchup with RPI rankings at-stake. William and Mary (12-3-2), which entered the match seventh in the most current RPI standings, saw its unbeaten streak of 10 consecutive games snapped on a chilly night in College Park. The Terps have now won nine straight.

Herrick provided Maryland with its quickest goal of the 2010 campaign when his strike deflected off Tribe goalkeeper Andrew McAdams to the lower right corner at 1:04. Townsend won a battle in the air and dished to John Stertzer who shuffled it to Herrick for the early lead. It is the second consecutive match that the Terps have scored in the first two minutes of the contest after Herrick tallied Maryland's first goal at 1:32 against Virginia Friday night.

Townsend got in on the scoring midway through the first half when his one-timer beat McAdams to his left for a goal at 27:49. Taylor Kemp served a long volley from 40 yards out which sailed over Stertzer's head and onto Townsend's left foot for the score.

Torres pushed the Terrapin lead to three when he ripped a rebound off a save from a Townsend attempt with 32 minutes remaining in the second stanza.

Tuesday night's shutout of William and Mary was the second consecutive blanking of a top-15 ranked foe without the services of key defensive starters London Woodberry and Ethan White. Zac MacMath made four saves on the day for his 10th shutout in 2010.

"The first half was a great first half for us," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "I thought we came out flying. Casey (Townsend) and Jason (Herrick) are just getting better and better every game and their synchronicity is really starting to peak. Our defending in the midfield is getting better.

"It's the second game in a row that we've played with a little bit of a makeshift backline and I'm really proud of them. I think Zac (MacMath) is really starting to zone in right now. He's tuned in and giving us a lot of confidence."